After taking office in 2013, City of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti got busy appointing his supporters to key city commissions. As the city prepares to fight the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative, which forces the city to follow their own rules for development, it has emerged one of the mayor’s commission appointees, has pledged their support to get the initiative on the November ballot.
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Rene Dake Wilson was appointed to the commission, in 2013, alongside 64th Assembly District candidate Marta Segura, to ensure quorum. Dake Wilson has elevated to the commissions Vice-Presidency and Marta Segura is no longer on the commission.
Related video: Jill Stewart discusses the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative
A presumed relative of Ms. Wilson’s, Glen Dake, was also appointed to the Metropolitan Water District (WMD) board, by Mayor Garcetti in 2013.
Today an article appeared on the California Planning and Development website, listing Dake Wilson as a supporter of the initiative, being funded by the AIDS Health Foundation (AHF).
2 Urban Girls reached out to AHF Senior Director of Communications, Ged Kenslea, who confirmed she is a supporter.
AHF continues to display their political power after successfully getting another controversial initiative on this November’s ballot, which will require condoms in porn. Sen. Isadore Hall heavily supported that initiative.
Is this Mayor Eric’s low-key way of endorsing the initiative? Former Mayor Richard Riordan is also counted as a supporter.
Apparently, someone over at Homeboy Industries reminded Father Greg Boyle he has a business operating inside of City Hall and he rescinded his support for the initiative.
Read the full text of the initiative by clicking here.
**update 2/3/2016**
Clearly this initiative has people confused. The editor of CP&DR, Josh Stephens, reach out to 2 Urban Girls stating Dake Wilson is not supporting the initiative. The article wasn’t clear, initially, in stating whether those cited in the article were supporters or not.
If Ms. Dake Wilson doesn’t support the inititiave, it would imply she supports the city council going against the very zoning laws her commission is there to ensure adherence to.
Be sure and catch our interview with Jill Stewart, this Sunday, at 6:30pm on rmconair.com! Should be a lively discussion. You can call in your questions at 323-965-1600. View interview here.
5 Comments
The Initiative is a nice step forward, but so few people realize that LA is in such a mess that it will take a lot more than one more law to be ignored. Maybe, it is because the weather is so wonderful, that none of us realize how deeply corrupt all of Los Angeles has become. Our City Hall has the most corrupt city council in the nation and that is due in large measure to the fact that the courts are horrible corrupt.
When I step outside and see the green grass and the lovely trees in our part of Los Angeles (Los Feliz), I too have trouble remembering what a mess we have for government. Following is only a tidbit that describes why citizens were forced to push for this Initiative after Judge Goodman shoved all the Hollywoodians out of the planning process. Just when you think you’ve had a victory, you discover that you’ve been stabbed in the back.
http://bit.ly/1QteQKO January 24, 2016, Zwartz Talk, How Judge Allan Goodman’s Bait ‘N Switch on the Hollywood Community Plan Forced Citizens to Bring the Moratorium Ballot Initiative, by Scott Zwartz
Why are proponents discussing ramifications on “affordable housing”? If the development projects don’t have taxpayer money attached, can they be forced to set aside “affordable” units for those meeting income threshholds?
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/mixing-it-up/article_4de18029-0f9d-5de6-85a8-7dbd5c5c2a69.html
“Affordable Housing” is a very complex issue as the term “affordable Housing” has two meanings.
(1) Housing which people can afford, often this means rent controlled
(2) Housing built under some statute and allegedly is to help poor people
There is a claim that developers tear down rent controlled units (affordable housing) and replace them with fewer statutory “Affordable Housing” which is considerably more expensive as it has lost its rent control base.
I see you also asked about whether the developer can be forced to add statutory “affordable Housing” when there is no public money.
Answer: Yes, sort of
If it is 100% By Right and they want no exceptions and will follow the zones and specific plans, then I do not know any way they can be forced to add Affordable Housing.
But the problem we are facing are developers who do not want to build By Right. In those situations, it usually works out that the developer invokes something like SB 1818 which allows him to break a lot of zoning codes if he adds statutory “Affordable Housing.”
The most important thing to remember is that whatever the developer and the councilman agree becomes the project without regard to the law. Once a development project is placed on the city council agenda, it will receive unanimous approval even if no one votes for it.
LA is unique in that no councilmember needs for any development in order for it pass unanimously. So in reality, the LA city council has no real voting. All it takes is for the developer and the councilmember to strike a deal and the unanimous approval automatically follows.
Aside from the fact that CP&DR is a pr outlet, it was shared that there is a lawsuit on the books, forbidding the city from mandating affordable housing.
http://www.lawsv.com/state-law-actually-blocks-affordable-housing/
And if that’s the case, council is continuously awarding developers the authority to increase housing units, under the guise that “affordable housing” is part of the package, then somehow manage to be “shocked” when the rent is market rate.
If the intent of the initiative is to prevent corruption, passing this initiative almost appears to encourage more corruption.